stainless steel vs blued

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regulate34

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i am just about to order my new hunting rifle but just noticed the m70 featherweight in stainless steel. i was set on the m70 sporter but now i hopped my self up on a fence.
so what i am looking for is a little more info on stainless.
-are all metal peices stainless or some coated
- how dose ware and tare compare between the two
- is stainless prone to crack
(never heard of one cracking i just know stainless is more brittle)

also wondering about going from 24" to 22" barrel
would it effect accuracy
i know it will efect velocity a little
will be 30-06

thanks for the help
 
regulate34 said:
i am just about to order my new hunting rifle but just noticed the m70 featherweight in stainless steel. i was set on the m70 sporter but now i hopped my self up on a fence.
so what i am looking for is a little more info on stainless.
-are all metal peices stainless or some coated
- how dose ware and tare compare between the two
- is stainless prone to crack
(never heard of one cracking i just know stainless is more brittle)

also wondering about going from 24" to 22" barrel
would it effect accuracy
i know it will efect velocity a little
will be 30-06

thanks for the help
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Stainless will never need to be re-finished, will never crack, and will last your lifetime. The Model 70 is all stainless, no coated parts. Were it me, it would be the SS Featherweight in my cabinet...

I've never been out with my 22" .30-06 and wished it were longer and heavier...:D
 
Internals are still carbon steel, but exposed surfaces (receiver, bolt, barrel) are actual stainless. 22", for hunting purposes, will not make a difference for you in accuracy (shorter barrels are theoretically capable of better accuracy due to harmonics, in real life, there's no difference). For brittleness in cold, likely doesn't get cold enough depending where you are in BC. Coldest I've shot my rifles in is -43C actual temp with chrome moly, not sure if I'd shoot hot loads out of stainless rifles in those temps, but those temps are the exception not the rule. A lot of aircraft components are made from stainless and most aircraft today are certified to -40 or better so I wouldn't be too worried. All that said, I prefer blued / chrome moly steel, but truth be told there's no difference. If you care for blued, it works just as well in the wet too, requires a smidgeon more attention however.
 
blargon said:
Stainless will never need to be re-finished, will never crack, and will last your lifetime. The Model 70 is all stainless, no coated parts. Were it me, it would be the SS Featherweight in my cabinet...

I've never been out with my 22" .30-06 and wished it were longer and heavier...:D
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x2 I think you will appreciate the shorter lighter package as a more practical all around hunting rifle.
 
There is a lot of hype right now about "all weather" hunting rifles with stainless barrels and composite stocks. I'm not arguing that they hold up very well in wet weather, but don't be fooled to thinking that blued/walnut won't hold up just as well. Blued/walnut guns can handle the wet weather just as well, they've been doing it for more years than stainless guns. They do require a bit of love and care to make sure they don't rust, but you should be showing your guns love and care regardless. Get whatever you think looks ###ier.
As for the 22" barrel, you will find it a joy to carry. I also love the way my 22" barreled guns point. As long as the gun is well balanced there will be no detriment to accuracy compared to a 24" barrel.
 
It's a simple fact that stainless steel is more resistant to rust than blued steel is. As well, a good quality composite stock is more stable in changing humidity than any wooden stock can be. It's up to you to decide if those factors are important to you.
 
stubblejumper said:
It's a simple fact that stainless steel is more resistant to rust than blued steel is. As well, a good quality composite stock is more stable in changing humidity than any wooden stock can be. It's up to you to decide if those factors are important to you.
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Great way to put it, especially the last sentence. :)
 
Another thing to remember is not all SS is created equal. About the only SS from the usual manufacturers I have not seen rust a bit is the older canoe paddle rugers... Everu=ytrhing needs some attention. It's just a matter of how much.
 
StevieK said:
There is a lot of hype right now about "all weather" hunting rifles with stainless barrels and composite stocks. I'm not arguing that they hold up very well in wet weather, but don't be fooled to thinking that blued/walnut won't hold up just as well. Blued/walnut guns can handle the wet weather just as well, they've been doing it for more years than stainless guns. They do require a bit of love and care to make sure they don't rust, but you should be showing your guns love and care regardless.
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I sat out in a multi-day, all-day rain/sleet/snow deluge caribou hunting a number of years ago. I learned the hard way that water/moisture will find it's way into areas of unfinished wood (butt plate + fore end) lift the finish and areas of the action and cause rust. I'll never expose any of my blued/walnut guns to rain again.
 
Fall Guy said:
I sat out in a multi-day, all-day rain/sleet/snow deluge caribou hunting a number of years ago. I learned the hard way that water/moisture will find it's way into areas of unfinished wood (butt plate + fore end) lift the finish and areas of the action and cause rust. I'll never expose any of my blued/walnut guns to rain again.
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The solution to this is to seal those areas with spar varnish or something similar.
 
After I was out in the wet sleet for a day of elk hunting I wiped off my blued steel rifle really well as I got into the truck. After the 2 hour drive to get home I pulled it out of the case and noticed some faint tiny spots of rust starting to form. They just wiped off, so no problem. But then I was wondering what was happening to the bottom of the barrel in the channel of the stock. So I took the barreled action out of the stock and wiped it down really well. In a couple of days I was planning to go out hunting again, but after taking the rifle apart I was no longer confident that it was perfectly sighted in. I couldn't make it to the range in those couple of days, so I was forced to take a different rifle out hunting that I knew was sighted in. The problem was that the new rifle was sighted in for a deer load, and I was hunting elk. The lighter sierra bullet wouldn't be as effective on a bull elk as the partition I had with the first rifle.

This story has lead me to be a stainless steel believer. When I get home from a wet hunt I still wipe the rifle down really well, but I don't worry about the bottom of the barrel or other hidden parts slowly getting rusted up. That way I don't have to take it apart and wonder if the rifle is sighted in. Then I won't have to put my elk rifle away and try to use my deer rifle for elk, and then wonder if it will do the job.
The stainless just makes things easier. A lot less wondering.
 
tjhaile said:
The solution to this is to seal those areas with spar varnish or something similar.
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I use grease, repels the water, and seals the open wood pores on the inletted inside of the stock. I used to hunt the west coast, rainiest place on earth almost, with blued and walnut and used just grease and G96. No rust on my guns, worked just fine. Many Alaskan Kodiak bear guides carry blued steel BRNO 602's and the like as well, you just need to take some simple precautions. We get pretty overly excited about stainless, I make the choice based on the looks as with a little attention, chrome moly works just fine too. In fact, I sold my stainless sporter last fall. There are benefits, but not as big as many think as all your lockwork and internals are still carbon steel. As another poster mentioned too, gun stainless isn't actually stainless/rust free, it's just improved rust protection, it still rusts.
 
Ardent said:
I use grease, repels the water, and seals the open wood pores on the inletted inside of the stock. I used to hunt the west coast, rainiest place on earth almost, with blued and walnut and used just grease and G96. No rust on my guns, worked just fine. Many Alaskan Kodiak bear guides carry blued steel BRNO 602's and the like as well, you just need to take some simple precautions. We get pretty overly excited about stainless, I make the choice based on the looks as with a little attention, chrome moly works just fine too. In fact, I sold my stainless sporter last fall. There are benefits, but not as big as many think as all your lockwork and internals are still carbon steel. As another poster mentioned too, gun stainless isn't actually stainless/rust free, it's just improved rust protection, it still rusts.
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Because I'm the curious sort, and I had a detail stripped Winchester 70 Stainless Classic on the bench, I attacked it with some cold blue.

The only parts which were not 'stainless' were the mainspring and the magazine spring. Even the roll pins that retained the safety lever would not take cold blue.

As for the stainless steel used in quality firearms actually rusting, if you PM me your mailing address, I will send you some barrel stubs that you can put outside, in your fish tank, wherever, and post pictures of them with rust on them. I would love to see them.
 
I have to admit that I prefer my stainless rifles over my non-stainless rifles. I find that bluing on modern, lower cost, rifles is poor. Having said all that, the bluing on my higher end rifles, and older rifles, is deep and shiny, and I have no concerns about rust. As others have said, you need to give your rifles some care, and a light coat of oil goes without saying. I also like to add that my oiled walnut stocks have never had an issue, neither have my laminate SKS stocks, in wet conditions. The same goes for my well made and well finished wood stocks of my higher end rifles. All my cheap rifles have plastic stocks, and that's probably a good thing!
 
rgv said:
As for the stainless steel used in quality firearms actually rusting, if you PM me your mailing address, I will send you some barrel stubs that you can put outside, in your fish tank, wherever, and post pictures of them with rust on them. I would love to see them.
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You gotta deal, would love to try it out, PM inbound- and I too hope they don't rust. :)
 
bcsteve said:
Stainless synthetic all the way!! Blue and wood is for fudds!:D
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They're not just for fudds.

I think theres some younger fella's who like a sense of individuality through being nostalgic about rifles that were way before their time. Perhaps theyre infatuated with feeling unique by their familiarity with older rifles.

Im speaking of the 17-mid 20's type's who are keen to argue the superiority of archaic military surplus over newer stainless/synthetic. :stirthepot2:

Who gives a $hit, they're rifles, just go have a good time, Id prefer stainless myself for the rust issue's, but I like the feel of a laminate. :p
 
I have the Super Grade and its a really nice super high gloss blued finish. Its a big step up from the Featherweight. Some probably think its a waste of money. I dont much like stainless guns anymore with synthetic stocks. They seem to have no heritage behind them and seem cold, some like them though so who cares, buy what you want.
 
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